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After news spread that the medical practice of the town of Edwards’ only doctor who sees patients out of his car was being threatened, people around the country chipped in to help.

On behalf of Dr. Carroll Frazier Landrum, petitions were signed and letters were sent to the Mississippi State Board of Medical Licensure, which initially contacted Landrum and told him that he should surrender his license or face a board hearing.

Now, a local radio personality and other community activists are providing Landrum with perhaps the most tangible form of support possible: an office.

“Dr. Landrum is a lynchpin in that community,” said radio show host Kim Wade, who has spearheaded a fundraiser to build an office. “He affects people’s lives, and there are people who he helped who will never forget what he’s done for them. We wanted to do what we could to help him out.”

Wade partnered with a contractor in Edwards named Harrison Williams, who was already in the process of renovating the old post office building in Edwards.

Williams agreed to let Landrum move into the space for $425 a month, the bare minimum to sustain a working business.

Now, Wade is calling for donations to help Williams complete the project. A total of $9,700 would get the office built and ready for Landrum to move in. The project will give Landrum two exam rooms, a personal office space where he can keep patient files and a reception area.

The first phase of the project, building the walls and placing the sheetrock for the building, will begin this weekend, Wade said.

Installing the electrical elements of the building and a four-ton central heating and air conditioning unit are the next steps, but that money has not yet been raised.

“We’re looking to have everything done in the next 45 days,” Wade said. “But we still need some help.”

Landrum, who has been the only practicing doctor in Edwards for about 25 years, parks in front of his old office space, which is now an abandoned shopping center adjacent to the Dollar General on Jackson Street.

When he left his old office two years ago because of a couple instances of crime nearby, he could not find another space that suited his practice in town.

His patients — around two or three a day from as far as 50 miles in every direction — will call ahead or sometimes even just park their cars beside his and explain their symptoms to him.

He assesses the symptoms and writes prescriptions, most of the time for less-serious cases like respiratory illnesses or rashes.

If his patients have needs that go beyond the basic medical tools he keeps in his backseat, he refers them to more equipped doctors.

The community outreach and support has gone far beyond the confines of central Mississippi.

Petitions

One online petition has garnered 76,000 signatures worldwide. Another printed petition was passed around western Hinds County and garnered 1,500 signatures. Both petitions have been passed along to the state medical board, which has still not publicly given a reason for the pressure placed on the doctor.

Multiple calls were made and letters were sent to the medical board, as well, readers have told The Clarion-Ledger.

Landrum said he has been “extremely thankful” for the outpouring of support he has received.

“It’s hard to find the words to express how much I appreciate everything that has been done for me,” Landrum said.